(By Graham Crozier) Photograph of St John’s Church from Crawley Museum’s collection. John Barrett-Lennard served as Rector of St. John the Baptist, Crawley, for twenty-two years in the late Victorian period. Born in 1839, he was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard and Mary Shedden, his father…
Another object from our collection. This is the first aid box that belonged to the last gate keeper at the Horsham Road crossing. What would you write on a label for this one? Crawley’s Collections Revealed – label an object!
What’s in a name of a street near to you in this town? In Southgate seventeen occupations are renowned There’s a baker, but no butcher or candlestick maker The closest being a chandler, and not a muck raker Loriners produced all sorts of items to fit on horses Saddlers provided…
As May 1st is International Workers Day, here are some old photographs of people working in Crawley from our collection. Richard Cook & Workers Hollingdales Shoe Shop Steeles Forge, Balcombe Road Northgate Housing under construction – April 1951 Model of West Green, February 1949 Northgate Clinic Strain Gauge measurement apparatus…
The night my father met John Haigh, the acid bath murderer. Broadfield House is a Georgian mansion built in the early 1800s. It is situated on what was once the main London to Brighton Road (A23) just south of Crawley. A long drive leads up to the house, crossing Broadfield…
A Business Opportunity Brighton Pavilion was built and Queen Victoria went to visit. She stopped overnight at The George Hotel. The owner rubbed his hands with glee. Frequent visits to Brighton meant regular overnight stays at his hotel. He immediately went and bought all the flowers on the market.…
FOR LAURA From the corner of the road I watched you turn into the station One of many men to go Heroes of our nation. Everywhere the talk was Of the Kaiser’s million extra men I saw you board the train Not knowing when you’d come back again. You were…
“I do not like thee, Doctor Fell , The reason why – I cannot tell ; But this I know , and know full well, I do not like thee, Doctor Fell”. Sometimes members of a family meet and the talk turns to their memories. On one such occasion I…
Fields The old man started with the sentence, “When I was a child, all of this was fields.” It was a line that had been spun many times by many people over the years as they tried to explain how much their locality had changed since their youth. Most of…
Thumbs Up World are a wonderful organisation. They designed our children’s guide books, and also sit on our community panel. They’ve asked us to share the following message: ““My message to you”..creating a community message of hope. Please do share this we can get as many messages as possible ?. We…
